The purpose of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to provide a space to discuss diverse topics relating to African women in cinema--filmmakers, actors, producers, and all film professionals. The blog is a public forum of the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema.

The 5th edition of the Journées Cinématographiques de la Femme Africain de l'Image (JCFA): the theme “The African woman professional meeting the challenges of the digital age”. According to the responses of some professionals, this is a timely theme. Digital technology is a tool that should be of great assistance to women.

Claire Diao, distributor

For the distributor the medium itself is the challenge, how to render on the screen the good quality in terms of what was shot. As a distributor this is important because it incurs costs. Should it be distributed in DCP, on DVD, Blue Ray, using a USB stick? There is also the issue of sending the files. What do we do when we send a USB stick that never arrives, when sending a link to be downloaded and then there is the complaint that there is not a good Internet connection. I think that there are solutions, means to be devised so that the films can circulate, otherwise, films will be made and it will be impossible to diffuse them even in the digital age.

Kadi Sanogo, filmmaker

Nowadays, digital technology is in the process of taking the lead, facilitating the work of professionals in the film. If we look in our countries, a more and more films are being made every year, because of the accessibility of digital technology, the equipment is light and the cost is lower. It is therefore the moment to seize this opportunity in order to develop the cinema culture; however there needs training to better adapt to it.

Georgette Paré, actress

The advent of digital technology has triggered disruption. This is a boon to cinema in light of the possibilities that this technology offers. We were even lead to believe that with this tool, we would not be unemployed, which is not the case. It is true that it is accessible, that anyone can make images, but is that equivalent to films? Things must be restructured; in order to know this technology better and to take advantage of it as it should be done.

By Bengnime Rachelle Some

A gallery where you get to to see cameras

Different types of camera are exposed at the l’Institut de l’Image et du Son. Whether old or the latest trend, these tools are unveiled to the public for a better understanding of their attributes. Known as the "Galerie ciné équipement" [Cinema Equipment Gallery], this initiative aims to create exhibition and marketing spaces for film production equipment.

Film professionals and the public have the opportunity to revisit the evolution of the film camera and photo camera over time. They also have the possibility of having their devices repaired thanks to the technicians who are on site. Since the opening of the stands of the "Galerie ciné équipement", students from the city of Ouagadougou have been able to satisfy their curiosity by operating the rails or cranes. In addition to this moment of discovery, there is an impromptu workshop that allows young professionals to have feedback on their film projects: "it is an opportunity to have the point of view and the advice of Guy Désiré Yaméogo, a expert in screenwriting. This feedback will allow them to work through blockages" explains Mamounata Nikièma the initiator of the gallery.

She hopes to repeat this initiative at the fiftieth anniversary of FESPACO if the targeted audience shows interest in the event.

"Tes cheveux démêlés cachent une guerre de sept ans’’is the third documentary feature film by Algerian director Fatima Sissani. Released in 2017, the film tells the story of three women involved in the National Liberation Front (FLN). "Why did you become involved in Algeria's independence by joining the FLN?" This question was asked to Zoulikah Bekkadour, Alice Cherki and Eveline Safir Lavalette who decided to fight against the colonisation of Algeria in their youth. Silent for years, today, they agree to revisit colonial Algeria and convey the "secrets" of their fight. A fight, which according to them "is above all a duty of all citizens". Through newspapers, archival photos, nostalgic music, everything, the portrait of these three women brings us closer to understanding the war, the pangs of colonization, segregation, racism, anti-Semitism. Despite the clandestine activities, prison, torture, the psychiatric hospital, nothing could stop the determination of these fighters. An act of resistance hailed by the public who were touched by the experience of these women. One of the filmgoers says in this regard that this part of the history of Algeria is a landmark and must inspire the youth facing the new form of colonisation that Africa is presenting living. Thanks to the documentary, the venture has been won for the director who wants to revisit the history and preserve the memory of her country.